Getting
Started Week
Fifteen - Staying the Course
At about four months of age, puppies begin to lose their
puppy teeth and gain their adult teeth. They also become hormonal as
they mature. At this age, your puppy may appear to test you just like a
human adolescent or teenager. You ask your puppy to sit and
you get a blank stare or a wagging tail that looks like, "What if I
don't?"
Wrong move: lose your cool -
yell, scare, physically grab or punish - as your response.
Right move:
If you are about to feed dinner or offer a toy, withhold it,
turn your back and walk away. Or, go to your puppy and insist - calmly -
on a SIT by gently taking the collar in two hands and lifting up and
back looking down on your puppy, saying, "Sit" with full enunciation in
a quiet yet stern voice tone. Say, "Good" to reassure and lower
any perception of threat as your puppy sits.
What's
important is that you stay consistent, persistent and insistent
with house rules and canine manners.
Parenting Tips™ for your puppy
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